Miami 'Millionaire' gets 2nd shot at final answer

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By ERIC DEGGANS

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 12, 2000

Dan Blonsky thought his 15 minutes would run out about two months ago.

But the Miami-based lawyer catapulted into the national spotlight in January after winning the $1-million jackpot on ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, is bracing for a new shot of fame when he returns to the show next week for three days of competition in its "Champions" edition.

"If someone wants to give me money, I'm not going to say no," said Blonsky, noting that ABC devised the "Champions" concept after another game show, NBC's Twenty One, called him and $1-million winner John Carpenter to ask about appearing on their program.

Blonsky, along with the show's two other million-dollar winners, four $500,000 winners and 16 $250,000 winners, will face off for three days of contests, beginning Monday.

The seven champions who earned $500,000 or higher start in the show's "fastest finger" qualifying round, joined by three players who won $250,000.

As players move into the "hot seat" across from host Regis Philbin to answer questions for prize money, more $250,000-level winners will join the "fastest finger" rounds.

Unlike the show's recent celebrity contestants, the Millionaire champions are not guaranteed to win a certain amount of money, and only half their winnings will be donated to their favorite charity. The episodes air May 21, and May 23 to 25 on WFTS-Ch. 28.

Blonsky has already prepared for the occasion by purchasing a new World Almanac and making sure law partner Jeff Crockett, who helped him win $500,000 last time around, is available to serve as his phone-a-friend.

"I asked if we were going to be allowed to shout answers at each other," he added, noting that celebrity Millionaire contestants were allowed to help each other up to the $32,000 level. "They didn't really answer me, but I expect the verdict's going to be no."

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Philip Motta, a zoology professor at the University of South Florida, appears on Animal Planet's Extreme Contact series at 10 p.m. Sunday. He'll show a study at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota that electronically maps muscle movements as a shark attacks its prey.

"There's a greater interest in understanding the biology of sharks these days," said Motta, who also will appear during the Discovery Channel's Shark Week broadcasts in June. "TV shows have changed from (saying) "Kill the sharks,' to (saying) "They're endangered, let's study them, they need to be saved.' "